I'd Rather Be WritingPrinciples in Tim Ferriss' book The 4-Hour Work Week can be applied to tech comm projects. By focusing on the 20 percent of tasks that result in 80 percent of the results, limiting your focus to two mission critical tasks a day, empowering those around you to make decisions, and avoiding distractions from trivial tasks, meetings, and email, you can be much more productive in your work. More than crossing off a list of tasks, this approach will likely make your efforts matter.READ MORE

MediaPost CommunicationsCreating original branded content solves many problems for marketers, but also presents challenges — among them distribution and realizing ROI from what can be a costly investment.
Time Inc., CBS and Telepictures are among hundreds of publishers working with IRIS.TV, which recently introduced a product to manage the distribution of branded content. Its video personalization solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technology so publishers can automate the programming of their video libraries for the individual based on that person’s preferences and behavior.READ MORE

TechCrunch Microsoft announced a number of updates to Word, PowerPoint and Outlook that will bring more of its machine learning smarts (among other things) to some of its core Office suite products. For Word, the focus is on helping you become a better, more confident writer. With Researcher for Word, the team is now building a new tool into Word that helps you find information regarding the topic about which you are writing.READ MORE

STC It's time for you to take action and join STC! Our mid-year dues savings are happening now! Save 30 percent on Classic, New TC Professional, or Student membership rates. No promo code is needed to take advantage of the 30 percent savings. This is our last price drop for the year, so act now!READ MORE

STC Do you have what it takes to "gain the edge to get results" in tech comm? STC wants you to submit a proposal for the 2017 Summit with that theme in mind. The call for proposals will open on August 1, so now is the time to start thinking about your topic and how it will resonate with Summit attendees and leave them with tangible takeaways to get results in their career. For more info on the call, visit http://summit.stc.org/call-for-proposals/.READ MORE

People are the key to clear technical content. CPTC certification helps individuals build exceptional careers in technical communication and enables organizations to form a skilled and confident staff. Get certified and be ready for today's and tomorrow's tech comm challenges.READ MORE

Forbes Simplicity reigns in the world of software design. Iconic tech companies like Facebook and Apple understand this, and work hard to simplify their products. This results in a great user experience.
But what's the most tactical way to achieve simple designs that drive strong UX? At my software solutions company UM Tech, we rely on an information architecture (IA) process. This process organizes information across the platform being developed. It provides an easy understanding of where the information is located as well as the means to navigate from the current position to the desired information.READ MORE

TechWhirlIt’s hard to keep track of how many times APIs (Application Programming Interface) shape our experiences per day, or even per hour. Although you experience an API when your PayPal transaction goes through, or your Uber ride picks you up, an API itself is intangible, more so than typical end user software. Even embedding a YouTube video in a WordPress blog post counts as using an API. With hundreds of thousands of publicly-facing APIs that are available to an ever-wider user base, companies are under great pressure to make their APIs easy to use and useful.READ MORE

Tech.CoSocial media has started to influence millennials in a big way. These social network sites have digitized the traditional public relations and are embraced by bloggers and journalists with open arms. Newspaper, catalog, radio, television and even websites have taken a backseat to these platforms. The power to co-create the brand image of a digital business takes away the control from the brand and given it to the consumers. The playing field and rules have changed, lead by an accelerated shift towards a more connected culture. Here are a few key points on writing content that best connects with your target audience.READ MORE